Buynaksk Synagogue

Buynaksk Synagogue
Russian: Буйнакская синагога
The facade of the Buynaksk Synagogue. 2022
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Status	Abandoned
Location
Location	44 Korkmasov Street, Buynaksk, Dagestan, North Caucasus
Country	Russia
Location of the abandoned synagogue in Dagestan
Geographic coordinates	42°49′N 47°07′E
Architecture
Type	Synagogue architecture
Funded by	The Jewish congregation
Groundbreaking	1860
Completed	1862
Materials	Limestone blocks

Buynaksk Synagogue (also known as the Temir-Khan-Shurá Synagogue) (Russian: Буйнакская синагога "Темир-Хан-Шура"; Hebrew: בית כנסת בוינאקסק) was a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 44 Korkmasov Street, in the city of Buynaksk in the Republic of Dagestan, in the North Caucasus of Russia. The building is from the 19th century and is a historical relic of the Jews of the Caucasus that was built in 1862. It served the Jews for over a century. This is the only synagogue that has survived from the four that were in the city at the beginning of the 20th century. Nowadays, the synagogue is closed and has ceased to perform its functions.

History

The interior of the Buynaksk Synagogue. 2022

During the Caucasian War, Jews found refuge by taking refuge in fortified fortresses built by soldiers of the tsarist army. In one of these fortresses, in Temir-Khan-Shurá (now Buynaksk), Jews moved from different villages: Madzhalis, Dorgeli, Erpeli, as well as from Qırmızı Qəsəbə and Derbent.

In the 1850s, a community of Mountain Jews arose in the fortress, whose rabbis sent a petition to the tsar to build a synagogue. Permission was received and in 1860, with funds collected by the entire community, construction began on a building according to a project sent from Lithuanian Kovno, nowadays Kaunas. Not only residents helped, but also wealthy Jews from Derbent and Qırmızı Qəsəbə. By the holiday of Passover in 1862, the community celebrated the opening of the synagogue.

Some historians think that this synagogue was initially built by Ashkenazi Jews.

Historian Igor Semenov wrote:

"...the majority of the Jews of Temir-Khan-Shurá were not Mountain Jews, but Ashkenazi Jews, most of whom were members of the city's merchant guild and were engaged in supplying the Russian army. It is also interesting that until the February Revolution of 1917, Mountain Jews and Ashkenazi Jews together constituted the majority of the city's population. However, these groups of Jews lived separately and each of them had its own synagogue. One of them, the Ashkenazi one, has survived to this day..."

The synagogue building served the Jews for over a century. In the 90s of the 20th centuries, Mountain Jews began to leave Buynaksk, which led to the closure of the synagogue. Since the building is not in use, it is constantly exposed to sudden temperature changes and therefore inevitably deteriorates and collapses.

Acts of vandalism were committed against the synagogue building: windows were repeatedly broken, property was destroyed, and arson was committed. In 1995, an explosive device was placed under the gates of the synagogue. In 2021, Molotov cocktails were thrown into the windows of the synagogue. On May 21, 2022, another arson of the synagogue was committed. As a result, the walls of the building, its original interior decoration, including characteristic ornaments and stained-glass windows, are under threat of complete destruction.

Jewish organizations in Russia, with the participation of local and republican authorities, discussed the restoration of the synagogue, but the problem was never resolved.

See also

• History of the Jews in Buynaksk
• Judaism in Dagestan
• History of the Jews in Russia
• List of synagogues in Russia

External links

• Media related to Buynaksk Synagogue at Wikimedia Commons
• Buynaksk Synagogue, Dagestan, Russia
• Project Opening the Synagogue 'Temir-Khan-Shurá
• Buynaksk Synagogue